The Chamber has been very gratified by a spate of new members in the past few weeks. We have recently welcomed Aroostook Limousines as a member. Aroostook Limousines is the premier limousine service with the largest vehicle in their fleet north of Bangor. The company also does awards and trophies and memorials. We thank them for joining and look forward to working with them.
Also joining is Haney Building Specialties on the Van Buren Road. Troy Haney is certainly well known in our area and we are very proud he has chosen to enroll his business as a member. These two recent additions join Hisco Carpet Barn on North Main Street, Gemsations at the Skyway Plaza and Pathways Wellness Group, LLC of South Main Street as new members this past month.
Our board has had some recent additions that we are very excited about. I believe I have already mentioned that Ben Willey has become a Chamber director. Ben, of course, is part of the successful R.L.W. Management and Precision Lawn Care companies. Karen Ouellette of Sullivan Flooring is our latest new board member.
And this new and dynamic board has been hard at work. We are a ratification vote away from approving our one-year and five-year plans and are very excited in what comes next for the Chamber.
This column will mark my second year on the job and I could not be more thankful for not only the opportunity to do what I do, but for the support of our members and the hard work and commitment of our board of directors. I feel very good about what we have accomplished so far and even better about where we are heading.
As most of you know, Black Friday is a thing now and it’s not even about the Friday after Thanksgiving now. Many of the big stores are now opening on Thursday. As for me, I try to shop local as much as possible. When I need furniture or bedding, I go to Plourde’s Furniture. When I need hardware or supplies, I go to S.W. Collins. “Practice what you preach,” I always say.
If Black Friday isn’t your thing, then we have lots of local shopping options and here are a couple of things that might interest you. First, Saturday the 29th is Small Business Saturday. A joint effort by the Small Business Administration and American Express, it celebrates the small businesses that are all around us. And while you are out and about on Saturday, “Eat Small” too! Stop at one of our locally owned restaurants and make a day of it.
Then on December 11, a Thursday, we will celebrate our second annual Caribou Hometown Christmas where several of our local stores stay open extra hours (5 to 8 p.m.) and have special deals, door prizes and refreshments. I’ll have a full list of what stores are participating next week.
This past Saturday I spoke at the Methodist Business Men Breakfast group at the Gray Memorial United Methodist Church. I think this is a great thing being started by these men and I believe they will make a difference in the community.
Look forward to the ad in the paper next week for the festivities we have in store for you on Friday, Dec. 5 with the Gingerbread House Extravaganza, Santa’s Workshop and the Snowman Parade. All the fun starts at 6 p.m.
One last thing: If you are looking for a stocking stuffer or a swap gift for those work parties, we will very shortly have available a coupon book that features 89 coupons from business from Mars Hill to Limestone and all places in-between. Thirty-nine of those coupons are Caribou area businesses. The cost will be $20 and will be sold by local organizations so they can make some money on the sales of the books too. I’ll let you know when we get them!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a great week.
Executive Director William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or email him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
